Inklings of Something More
by M. Castor
Summary: A war is on its way and it's up to Mia to somehow stop it from happening. Seth continously taunts her, becoming the puppet master for her actions. Read after THE UNCANNY RESIDUES
1. Chapter 1

Mom's ocean hair drapes over her shoulders like cascading waterfalls. I recall being envious of it when I was really young. Her eyes are like gleaming sapphires that could stare into the souls of anyone. I used to think they were really pretty. She looks into my eyes judgingly as Dad comes to her side to join her. He has hair the color of soot, but his cheekbones are sharp; his light goatee is so vivid in this reverie. We have the same emerald eyes but nothing else in common-I got everything from my mom. But why do I see them, looking at me at that way they used to before they died? Disappointedly.

"Mom, Dad?"

Their faces turn into the wooden floor and the bright lights from the lamps. I look down at my constricted body, unable to even scratch my back. Sullenly I gaze at the floor, seeing no way out of this place. I manage to get on my knees and waddle to the bedroom window. Judging by the sky, it's almost morning. Like soldiers marching for battle, villagers hold their torches over their heads, chanting, "Let the Light prevail!" and "Wisp of the Light," and, "Darkness will fall."

"This isn't right," I hum, the duct tape clamped tightly over my mouth. What could I, a little girl, do? Master Shade is gonna get hurt for no reason. There's no way he killed those Wisp, I don't believe it. If I had told him, if I had just opened my mouth, he wouldn't be fighting back. I sink back to my corner and close my eyes while resting my head on my knees.

Seth, this is exactly what you want? No, you'd probably want me to die by your own hands because you're really _mean_ like that. What would you do if you were the one tied up like this and unable to do anything? Would you just let yourself do nothing and wait for death to come after the war or would you just kill everything in your path-I shouldn't have thought that. You're not a killer and neither am I.

I imagine myself as Seth, stuck in this room with no one to watch me or talk to me. Getting back to my feet, I look around the room for the sharpest thing in here. Oh, I think I remember! I was making a sandwich and when I was cleaning the counter, I got scratched by the corners. "Ouch, I'll be more careful next time," I reminded myself. Seth wouldn't say it like that, he'd say "I was too careless." I dash towards the counter, turn around, and press the rope against the sharp edge. Without knowing if the edge cut into the rope, frantically, I rub and rub by tipping on my tippy-toes.

"Come on," I say, but comes out, "Hm, hmm!"

Nothing. "Hm, hmmm!"

Come on, come on, come on! _"That's the best you can do?"_ Seth would say if he was watching. Something moist rolls down my cheek as I more vigorously scratch the rope, hoping that this idea works. I'm gonna prove you wrong Seth, watch me. "Arrhmmmm!" Oh, that sound! I heard a _tear_, it was small, but it was a tear. I picture Seth in front of me, smugly watching me struggle. A quick flash of my Mom and Dad sullenly gazing down at me pumps the adrenaline. Fiercely, I stretch my arms until the rope finally snaps and drops to the floor like a lifeless snake. With a soft moan, I gently remove the duct tape from my mouth and finally let out an exhausted sigh. I lean on the counter for support, avoiding touching the sharp edge.

"I-did it," I whisper between pants, wanting to go back to bed after such an ordeal. But then I remember Michele's warning about coming back and torturing me in jail. Putting the duct tape on the counter, I run to the door and jiggle the knob until I accept that no one is in the inn and I'm locked in. "There's no way out?"

No. I didn't go through all that just to run into another dead end. I hustle to the window and spot a few more people heading towards the Dark Forest. Just looking down makes me sick…but I don't have a choice. I pull out my staff bow and take in a deep breath before driving the bow into the glass. Like falling stars, the glass precipitates to the grass and goes unnoticed by the oblivious war men. It's still too far for me to jump down, I need a cushion or something. I grab the bed mattress and throw it out the window, landing over the dangerous glass shards. Then I take the sheets frantically from the floor and look down. I can't do this, my throat is getting tight. It's as if the rope retied itself around my neck and is strangling me all over again.

"_Chicken_," taunts imaginary Seth. With my eyes shut tight, the fear suppressed momentarily, and with the sheet held over my head, ready to open to like a parachute, I run to the window, duck my head so the frame doesn't hit me, and allow myself to fly.

* * *

><p>I can hear them marching loudly into my domain. Never have I ever set foot in Wisp's temple, yet she comes hither with an army of foolish villagers behind her. After I was transported here, I never had anyone to truly share a bond with. The only human I can recall having a bond with was Dunstan, but that was a long time ago. Mia reminds me of him sometimes, but that doesn't matter now.<p>

"…Light prevail! Down with Shade!" angry battle shouts echo throughout the forest. The time for looking back is not now-_I must face the present_, no matter how harsh it might be. Silently, I conceal myself in the shadows of pre-dawn as the flames grow hungrily.

"Stop," Wisp commands them. "He is here, I can sense him already. Are you hiding from me, you coward?"

"I was waiting," I insist, emerging from the shadows of the trees. Fear quickly flashes across the face of each and every human behind her when they get a good look at me, but then they shook it off with an invigorated battle cry.

"Wisp will prevail you demon!" an unidentifiable woman shouts. The triumphant clamor and raised torches adds more power to Wisp.

"They have faith in you, a very unwise choice."

"You left them no chance when you killed one of them. And my Wisp."

"I do not know what happened to your Wisp. Perhaps they grew sick of the Light."

"Scum of this earth," another village spits. "Your Darkness turns everything living into pure evil. You are not wanted in this world."

"That is a shame, I don't plan on departing."

"Shade, don't get too confident. We both know why you came to this place and how your Darkness calls to the hearts of these unfortunate humans," says Master Wisp. As I merely glance at the villagers' faces, I can see the Darkness growing along with their hatred of me.

"There is Darkness in every one of these people," I point out, much to the disapproval of the villagers. "You cannot create a heart of pure Light."

"Nor can you go around killing innocent people!" a villager interrupts.

"I act out of self-defense."

"_Lies!"_ they all yell with their torches pointed at me scornfully. "The Darkness must die!" Wisp has led these people to loathe me, and all because of what happened years ago. What happened back then is still holding her now, seeing me only in contempt. And I see her in the same way.

"Today Shade, we will fight for the Light and the other Wisp," Wisp steps forward, ready to unleash her Holy Light. The flame that has engulfed her head reaches up to the sky ravenously. It is time that our spat is settled. I have waited this day since I departed from Dunstan.

"So be it. I will fight for each shadow casted in this forest." As I clench my fist, the piercing cry that I instantly recognize put our fight on hold. A cry that takes me back so many years ago to when I failed Dunstan. A cry that shoots through the angry clamor of the mob of villagers. A cry loud enough to wake up a sleeping dragon miles away.

"_Nooooo!"_


	2. Chapter 2

"You guys can't do this," I plead, but my words go unnoticed by the clamor of the crowd. I try squeezing through the mob, but like statues they don't budge. "Please, stop." Nobody can even hear me!

"Today Shade, we will fight for the Light and the other Wisp," I hear Master Wisp up ahead.

"So be it. I will fight for each shadow casted in this forest," replies Master Shade proudly. Oh no, they're going to fight. The mob start chanting again and shuffling vigorously, pushing me around like the little kid I am. If they fight, I'll lose both of my teachers. I like both of them, even if I was scared to even look at them yesterday.

"Stop!"

"Down with Darkness!" What would Seth do? He would shove through this crowd and jump in the middle of the fight. No-! Stop that! You're not Seth remember? Master Shade told you that you are nothing like him…what would _Mia_ do?

"You _are _me Mia," hisses Seth in the back of my head. I shut my eyes as the noise around starts to get flushed out by Seth. "_You are everything like me._"

"_Nooooo!" _When I open my eyes, the mob gives me bewildered looks. I can't even recognize the voice that came out as my own. With more space to walk, I head towards my two teachers, with each step giving me more and more courage. If I can't stop them from fighting, I can say that I did tried. "Don't fight!"

"Mia?" they exclaim in astonishment.

"You know my pupil?" Master Shade asks just as Master Wisp asks, "You know her?" The truth was bound to come out eventually, but that's not the issue right now. I turn to Master Wisp first.

"Master, please. Call off this war and sign a truce."

"Mia, you know very well I can't do that. Shade has harmed another human like yourself and other spirits of the Light. This cannot go unpunished."

"But Master Shade wouldn't do anything like that!" I protest. Master Wisp seems stunned that I called him by that, but Master Shade is also shocked from me calling her by "Master" too. People I recognize within the mob shout at me.

"Shade follower!" Michele's distinctive voice flies over my head. "You have the Darkness within you and that's why you're against the Light!" The crowd yells in agreement. I feel as if everyone can hear my heart pounding. But it's not because I'm scared…I'm getting pumped.

"I am not against the Light. I-" What else could I say?

"She speaks lies!"

"Step aside unless you want to get hurt," warns Master Shade briskly, stepping behind me and gently pushing me aside to get to Master Wisp. She points her crystal hand at him.

"No more words." As my head darts back and forth to them, they each glow in power. Something won't let me do this, something is not going to let this happen. I hold my hands out to both of them; in my right hand, a sphere of Light spirals to block Master Shade, and in my left hand, a sphere of Darkness accumulates in unkempt clumps that keep Master Wisp in her place. Collective loud gasps pierce the air behind me.

"You dare raise a hand of _Darkness _to_ me_?" asks Master Wisp, insulted by my action. Master Shade simply remains taciturn, not giving me any idea of what he's thinking-probably the same thing.

"I'm stopping you from doing something bad! Master Wisp, just look down for a second," I beg her. She obeys. "You have a shadow." My head whizzes to Master Shade. "And there's Light in you, too."

"I am a spirit of infinite Darkness. You judge me wrongly." His acidic tone makes me want to just run out of here and cry but I'm not going to do that.

"What about-?" my desperation grows. "That _crystal_ above your head! It's bright-and…filled with Light. That's why I know you didn't make those Wisp disappear."

"Shade killed them, his own other spirits, and the monk."

"He hurts you people out of self-defense. You guys go into this forest with the intention of harming him so of course he's gonna defend himself. You people all have Darkness, too, and _the bad kind!_" Master Wisp faces them with a strange expressionless face. "I don't know about the other spirits, but he didn't do that either."

"Even me, the spirit of Light casts a shadow because of my own light," she says humbly with her eyes looking at everyone else's shadows. "The brighter the light, the longer the shadow is." A man's voice I recognize in the crowd starts a domino effect of realizations.

"We all have the shadows!" Mr. Daniel exclaims in fear. Others follow him, gasping at their own shadows. I face Master Shade as everyone starts to calm down.

"I know you can't accept the Light either, but without it, the Dark wouldn't exist. If it's too dark, nobody would be able to see and if it's too bright, we'd all be blind." Master Shade touches the gleaming crystal above his head; it instantly becomes brighter by his touch. Cautiously, I bring my hands to my sides, cutting off the energy from both hands. Where did all that come from? Everything just came out so naturally, as if it _had_ to be said. I feel somewhat stronger now.

"I don't want to admit it, but," starts Master Wisp now looking at me earnestly. "You are right, and I think everyone here agrees, right?" The mob murmurs a response of agreement. "Shade."

Both Master Wisp and I wait for Master Shade's response. He's just as stubborn as Master Wisp, but I really hope he's looking at this in my perspective. First, his eyes study me as if trying to find my unexpected bravery, and then gazes at Master Wisp skeptically as if he didn't believe her. Can he just put aside all of the things the villagers did to him and move on?

"We despise each other Wisp, that is no mystery. You've turned an entire village against me, but...I'm willing to put that aside for the future," he responds reluctantly. I sigh-it feels as if a huge weight has finally been lifted off my shoulders. No more attacking, no more fighting, just harmony. Dawn's colors spills across the sky like juice, with sunrise on the brink. Master Wisp faces the crowd once more.

"This war without bloodshed has ended. Return to your homes as if this never happened," announced Master Wisp. I follow the crowd out, eager to back to the inn and maybe get some shut eye. "Except you, Mia." I stop in my tracks and circle around to face the two spirits. We silently wait for everyone to clear out before I burst like a water balloon.

"I'm sorry I yelled at you both, and raised my hands to you-and I'm sorry I didn't tell you the truth about each other, I feared you would do-something-!"

"I just want to thank you for showing me my fault. That's all," she pats my shoulder and hovers toward the village, leaving me alone with Master Shade. I wish he could leave too, but that's unlikely.

"You-trained under Wisp," he asks rather than stating with some disbelief. He's probably shocked that I kept this secret from him for a long time.

"Y-yes. I'm sorry that I-"

"Stop." His tone is earnest with no room for leniency. Seeing my timid and ashamed expression leads him to add, "I'm not angry." He collapses into the shadows of the forest leaving me alone.

'

Are they both going to stop training me like I thought? I guess I'll find out tomorrow because I'm exhausted and need to rest. Expelling those Spheres and yelling at the top of my lungs drained me all the energy from me.

"Oh, Mia," Mr. Daniel jumps when he sees me in the bedroom. "I'm really sorry about last night. Michele and I are really sorry we acted like that. It was really my fault, I got jealous and angry that you were, uh, and I just wanted to put this-yeah, ok. I'm going, sorry again." He dashes out of the room before I can question what he was doing here in the first place. As I look around, the window is still shattered, letting in a cool gust to remind me what happened, but I guess Mr. Daniel decided to replace my mattress and bed sheets. That was nice of him to do. I take off my jacket and boots and collapse onto the spring mattress. Sleep feels so good.

* * *

><p>Why didn't I recognize her before? Her very presence reminds me of Dunstan and how he would beg me not to quarrel with Wisp when he went to go see <em>her-<em>with those eyes of his.

**Bam, finished before exams and hopefully published before I go to Italy. Don't forget your reviews!**


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